1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to refrigeration systems. More specifically, the present disclosure related to refrigeration systems having diagnostic devices and methods of detecting locations of malfunctions in refrigeration systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Refrigeration systems such as air conditioning systems are used in commercial and residential buildings, as well as automobiles, trains, and airplanes and other transportation include. Additionally, refrigeration systems are also commonly used in devices such as refrigerators, chillers, freezers, and ice makers.
Components in a typical residential air conditioning system include a compressor, a condenser coil, an outdoor fan, an expansion device, an evaporator coil, an indoor fan, and a thermostat. In some designs, the compressor, condenser coil, and outdoor fan are enclosed in a cabinet that is located outside of the building, while the evaporator and indoor fan are located inside of the building. The cabinet can include suitable inlet and outlet grills that allow the fan to blow outdoor air over the condenser coil.
In addition to the above and when the refrigerant system is designed to function as a heat pump, the refrigerant system can also include additional components such as a reversing valve for reversing the flow of refrigerant between the condenser and evaporator coils to provide indoor heating instead of cooling. The heat pump can also include a defrost control for removing frost build-up, from the condenser coil, that may have accumulated during heating operation.
A common problem associated with the refrigeration system is, quite simply, a malfunction. When the refrigeration system stops working by failing to deliver any cooling or heating capacity, the room temperature can deviates from desired level, thereby requiring a need for service. A service technician who responds to the service call is subsequently confronted with a vast range of possibilities potentially responsible for the malfunction. Typically, one approach is to check the electrical subsystem to isolate the possible problem area(s). For example, the malfunction may have been caused by a loose electrical connection, a tripped protection switch, a failed contactor, or by an activation of the thermal protector of the compressor—often the thermal protector simply fails to work. Other possibilities include a loss of function by the electrical power source, possibly disconnected at either the air conditioner or at the main electrical circuit breaker panel. Also, the air conditioner operator or homeowner could have inadvertently turned off the thermostat, thereby causing a lack of an operational signal to the air conditioner.
To diagnose the electrical subsystem, a technician considers varied strategies and needs an instrument such as a voltmeter. In addition, the technician must access various points in the electrical circuit to measure the voltage at each point. This access is not always easy because some points may be spliced or connected by twist-on wire connectors without any conveniently exposed terminals. In such situations, the technician must first turn power off, disconnect these electrical points, turn on power to take the appropriate measurements, then turn off the power again to reconnect the points. Moreover, the aforementioned steps require specific training and a clear understanding of the exact electrical circuit configuration specific to each air conditioner and knowledge of the functional order of the various switches and protectors. Without this knowledge, identification of the specific problem causing the malfunction is admittedly difficult.
Therefore, it has been determined by the present disclosure that there is a need for refrigeration systems having indicator systems that overcome, alleviate, and/or mitigate one or more of the aforementioned and other deleterious effects of prior art refrigeration systems.